Apology Statement

Apology Statement

Hello, everyone. I'm Qisheng Haolou. This statement is long overdue, and I ask you to please read it patiently to the end!

I have deleted all my social media accounts, including Weibo, Lofter, and QQ, and I don't plan to return to these platforms under my own name. So there are some things I want to say, and some apologies I want to make, on the platform where I write. After all, the problem began here and was judged here, so it should end here too.

As my therapist said, "Avoidance doesn't solve problems. To solve a problem, you must first face it." I'm gradually beginning to recover from my illness. I'm reflecting on my mistakes and bravely coming forward to give everyone an explanation, and to bring this matter to a true close two years later.

This apology statement will remain on Jinjiang forever.

1. First, I want to apologize to everyone who cared about and supported me for quietly leaving back then.

Here, I solemnly say "I'm sorry" for the first time. I'm sorry to the readers who believed in me from the very beginning; to those who supported me with their words during my darkest and most helpless times; and to those who spoke up for me online and worked tirelessly during the investigation. I'm sorry for making you worry! I'm also truly sorry to the friends who cared about me in person or online, some of whom even reported me missing to the police because they couldn't find me. I'm sorry for making you worry!

I really shouldn't have quietly shut down every channel of communication and disappeared from your sight without a word after Jinjiang issued its ruling. I know that this was irresponsible, and an act of cowardly evasion. But the whole series of events, from the initial incident to the ensuing uproar, the online abuse, and the final ruling, came so suddenly and so quickly that I was stunned before I could react. The whole process dealt me a devastating blow. What happened over the course of a little more than a month far exceeded what I could bear, so from the end of 2018 until now, in 2021, I chose to curl up and hide. For six months, I had no contact with the outside world. I quit my job for a long time, and spent two whole years working with a therapist to address my problems. Through treatment and self-reflection, I came to understand that I needed the courage to face things. I also knew the first thing I had to face was "all the readers who supported me but received no explanation when I silently left back then." I owe these people who trusted and cared about me an explanation and an apology: "I'm sorry I took so long. Thank you for your support and care back then, and thank you for waiting and staying with me all this time. I truly hope this long-overdue apology hasn't come too late!"

2. Next, I want to state my position on Jinjiang's ruling.

First, let me explain Jinjiang's standard for penalties. According to Article 2 of the criteria in its Plagiarism Handling Policy, revised in March 2016: "Where the wording in specific descriptions is similar and does not fall under the exceptions listed in the criteria, if the total number of matching words is less than 1,000, the ruling is excessive borrowing. If it exceeds 1,000 words, the ruling is plagiarism." Below is a summary of all the works involved and their rulings, along with links to Jinjiang's decisions:

1. The work that sparked the entire plagiarism controversy: my personal work Sharp Silence, which was reported, and the work I was accused of plagiarizing, City of Robes. There are zero matching words. The ruling found no excessive borrowing and no plagiarism.

2. My personal work Sharp Silence, which was reported, and the article I was accused of plagiarizing, "Global Wisdom: From the World's Bay Areas to China's Beibu Gulf, Chengdu Begins Construction in Beibu Gulf," dated 2010-10-8. There are 52 matching words in total, less than 1,000. The ruling was excessive borrowing, not plagiarism.

3. My personal work A Brief History of Diving, which was reported, and the work I was accused of plagiarizing, The Dark Frontier. There are 105 matching words in total, less than 1,000. The ruling was excessive borrowing, not plagiarism.

4. My personal work Great Dream, Startling Case, which was reported, and the work I was accused of plagiarizing, China's Four Famous Embroideries and Four Famous Brocades, among others. There are 820 matching words in total, less than 1,000. The ruling was excessive borrowing, not plagiarism.

5. The work accused of plagiarism, Travel Collection, and the work it was accused of plagiarizing, I Too Have Drifted for a Long Time. There are 78 matching words in total, less than 1,000. The ruling was excessive borrowing, not plagiarism.

http://www.jjwxc.net/impeach.php?act=impeachinfo&impeachid=6055

http://www.jjwxc.net/impeach.php?act=impeachinfo&impeachid=5999

http://www.jjwxc.net/impeach.php?act=impeachinfo&impeachid=5990

http://www.jjwxc.net/impeach.php?act=impeachinfo&impeachid=5989

http://www.jjwxc.net/impeach.php?act=impeachinfo&impeachid=6057

These are all the passages in my personal works that Jinjiang ruled as "suspected of excessive borrowing." I fully respect and accept Jinjiang's ruling. This ruling, along with these passages, will serve as a "permanent warning" to me. From now on, whenever something isn't my own original work and has a verifiable source, whether it's professional knowledge, good phrases and sentences, online song lyrics, or internet jokes, I will clearly indicate the source and the original author's name.

Taking this opportunity, I want to sincerely apologize to the original authors of the books Global Wisdom: From the World's Bay Areas to China's Beibu Gulf, Chengdu Begins Construction in Beibu Gulf, The Dark Frontier, I Too Have Drifted for a Long Time, and China's Four Famous Embroideries and Four Famous Brocades, whose work I borrowed from without properly citing the source, resulting in "excessive borrowing." I also apologize to the writers whose work appeared in the online copy. They are the second issue I need to face, and the most important one: "I am truly, truly sorry. Without getting the original authors' consent, I used their original writing and failed to cite it carefully, which led to this result. That violated the spirit of originality and the principles of citation. I'm truly sorry. I was wrong! I won't falsely accept blame for things I didn't do, but for the things I truly did wrong, I will stand up straight and take responsibility. I will always accept criticism from these original authors."

3. Third, starting from the date of this statement, I will gradually return to writing, but I make this commitment: "For one year, I will not publish any of my works or sell any rights to them."

I love writing. During treatment, my doctor encouraged me to do things I enjoy. Writing became my only comfort, something that soothed me but also frightened me. I avoided my own writing for two years, yet I long to write and to communicate with my readers. So my writing is the third important issue I need to face. I hope to use my words to open a window of communication again with those who supported, cared about, and trusted me. I hope that under their supervision, they can watch me confront writing, hone my skills, improve, and mature, and ultimately live up to their expectations and support.

Therefore, I make the following commitments regarding my future writing:

1. For one year, I will not publish any of my works or sell any rights to them.

2. Among the works that were banned, A Brief History and Great Dream were paid works and generated income. Sharp Silence was free to read and generated no income apart from readers' reward votes. I will speak with my Jinjiang editor about the paid works and ask whether they can be unblocked and readers refunded for some of their subscription coins. If they cannot be unblocked, then in the future, for every paid work that generates income, one week after it is completed I will publicly disclose all income, including income from the paid work and reward votes, and donate 20 percent of it to charity. After my first new book this year is completed, I will also fulfill my original promise for A Brief History to donate part of its proceeds to ocean-related charities, as a way of atoning for my lack of care.

[Note: This commitment is open to everyone's supervision. If I fail to promptly disclose my income and proof of donation, then in addition to the original one-year ban on publishing my works, another year will be added during which I may not publish or sell the rights to my works.]

4. Finally: "Learn from the past to keep yourself alert, and let my example warn others!"

I've said so much above, but what I most want to say is this: even if what happened was beyond my control, no matter how miserable, disgraceful, or unbearable things were at the time, I should not have vanished without a word, without even giving an explanation or an apology. I will always be ashamed of that. I never took comfort in the wishful thinking that "the internet has no memory." I knew I would eventually have to come forward and face this. It just took me some time. I hope it isn't too late. Once again, I'm sorry: "To all the writers affected by what I did, as described in section two, I am so, so sorry. I apologize for my carelessness during the creative process. I am deeply sorry. I also apologize to everyone who paid for, read, or rewarded my books here, and to everyone who supported me. I am so, so sorry for betraying your trust. This apology statement has been delayed until now. Thank you for waiting so long."

I am explaining here today, in this way, the real reasons I disappeared for two years, what I went through emotionally, what I am doing now, and the small hopes I have for the future. I do this to face the past and be worthy of the future, and to remind myself that a mistake is a mistake. No reason is an excuse to evade responsibility or do wrong. This is not how an adult should handle things.

After two years of deep reflection, I have come to understand that even if only one person reads a book, I still have a responsibility to the content I create. From now on, I will carry this reflection and vigilance with me into every work I write. I am willing to face the strictest and most rigorous scrutiny in the future. I will be responsible for my work, for myself, and for every reader.

I hope this statement will help me remember and stay alert, so I don't fall into the same hole twice. The warning bell will always hang over my head, and I will treat every word I write seriously. I also hope this serves as a warning to others: if you haven't done anything wrong, learn to clear your name through proper legal channels. But if you have made a mistake, be brave enough to admit it, apologize promptly, and make amends. Only then can you comfort those you've hurt, face the future with a clear conscience, and keep your words and works clean.

Finally, I bow.

Thank you to those who waited for me!

I'm sorry to those I hurt!

Qisheng Haolou

Theme: Reflect deeply on your mistakes and earnestly make amends. I am deeply sorry.